Updating playback device configuration information based on calibration data

ABSTRACT

An example computing device is configured to perform functions including receiving calibration data corresponding respectively to a plurality of playback devices, where each playback device in the plurality of playback devices is located in a respective playback environment other than a first playback environment. The functions also include receiving playback device characteristic data respectively indicating at least one playback device characteristic for each playback device of the plurality of playback devices. The functions also include, based on at least the calibration data and the playback device characteristic data, determining updated playback device configuration information and transmitting data indicating the updated playback device configuration information to a given playback device located in the first environment.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/859,311 filed Dec. 29, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/088,994 filed Apr. 1, 2016, the disclosures ofwhich are explicitly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.The present application also incorporates by reference U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/481,505, filed on Sep. 9, 2014, for “AudioProcessing Algorithms;” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/481,511,filed on Sep. 9, 2014, for “Playback Device Calibration;” U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/805,140, filed on Jul. 21, 2015, for “HybridTest Tone for Space-Averaged Room Audio Calibration Using a MovingMicrophone;” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/089,004, filed onApr. 1, 2016, for “Playback Device Calibration Based on RepresentativeSpectral Characteristics.”

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from many sources via one or more networkedplayback devices. Through a software control application installed on asmartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants inany room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using thecontroller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each roomwith a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronousplayback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram for calibrating a particularplayback device;

FIG. 6 shows an example playback environment within which a playbackdevice may be calibrated;

FIG. 7 shows an example computing device in communication with anexample plurality of playback devices; and

FIG. 8 shows an example flow diagram for calibrating a playback device.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Examples described herein involve updating playback device configurationinformation based on data collected from playback device calibrationsthat have been performed. The updated configuration information mayresult in improved calibrations and sound quality in a given playbackdevice, or perhaps across many playback devices. Other benefits are alsopossible.

For instance, calibration data may be aggregated by a computing device,such as a server, from the individual calibrations of a plurality ofdifferent playback devices located in different respective playbackenvironments. The plurality of playback devices may be numerous,including hundreds of thousands or perhaps even millions of playbackdevices across the world.

The calibration data received by the computing device may include dataassociated with the calibration events of each playback device in theplurality of playback devices, such as the date and time of thecalibration, the make and model of the calibrated playback device,and/or the target frequency response curve used in the calibration,among other things. The target frequency response curve for a givenplayback device may correspond to a frequency response that isconsidered a good-sounding, or pleasing to a typical listener. Thus,each calibration may aim to adjust the equalization settings of thegiven playback device to meet the target frequency response curve.

The computing device may receive and store the calibration data overtime, as more playback devices are calibrated and recalibrated.Additionally, the computing device may receive playback devicecharacteristic information from the plurality of playback devices. Thismay include information that is not necessarily related to a givencalibration event, such as data regarding manual adjustments to aplayback devices equalization (EQ) settings made by a user either beforeor after a calibration event. Other playback device characteristics mayinclude data corresponding to associated user accounts (e.g., geography,age, gender, etc.) or playback history of the playback device andassociated data (e.g., listening duration, audio quality, genres,favorites, media sources, etc.). Other possibilities also exist.

After receiving the data discussed above from the plurality of playbackdevices, the computing device may analyze the received calibration datain conjunction with the received playback device characteristic data todetermine what correlations may exist within the data. This may presentopportunities for the computing device to take actions based on the datathat may improve future calibrations or otherwise improve the overalllistening experience among the plurality of playback devices.

For instance, the computing device may determine from the data that asignificant number of playback devices sharing one or more of the sameplayback device characteristics would likely benefit from the sameupdate to the configuration information of the playback device. As oneexample, the data may indicate that, among a plurality of playbackdevices of the same model, a similar manual EQ adjustment was frequentlyperformed following a calibration to the target frequency responsecurve. This may indicate that, for that model of playback device, thetarget frequency response curve may be improved.

Accordingly, the computing device may determine updated configurationinformation, including an updated target frequency response curve thatincorporates the identified EQ adjustment. The computing device may thentransmit the updated configuration information to the plurality ofplayback devices of that particular model. Each playback device may thenuse the updated target frequency response in a new calibration,resulting in an improved listening experience. In this way, someconfiguration updates may be crowd-sourced by identifying trends amongcalibration data and user behaviors across a large number of playbackdevices.

Additionally, the computing device may also use the plurality ofplayback devices to implement comparative testing of proposedconfigurations, such as a proposed target frequency response curve. Forinstance, the computing device may transmit two different targetfrequency response curves to two different populations of playbackdevices. The playback devices within each population may then becalibrated according to their respective response curve. The computingdevice may then receive calibration data and playback devicecharacteristic data, including user behaviors that may indicate a levelof satisfaction with each target frequency response curve. For instance,one response curve may lead to increased listening frequency andlistening duration by users of the first population of playback devices.On the other hand the other response curve may lead to frequentrecalibrations and manual EQ adjustments by users in the secondpopulation.

In some examples, the computing device may solicit feedback from usersof the playback devices within each population, inquiring directlywhether a new calibration is satisfying and/or an improvement over aprevious calibration. Alternatively, the computing device may transmitboth target frequency response curves to be tested to each playbackdevice in the plurality of playback device. The users of each playbackdevice may be presented with audio content played back according to acalibration resulting from the first response curve, and then accordingto a calibration resulting from the second response curve. The user maythen indicate which calibration is preferred, via a control device, forexample, and this data may be transmitted to the computing device.

In addition, the computing device may develop new categorizations withinthe plurality of playback devices for which particular calibrationchanges may be implemented. In some embodiments, a target frequencyresponse curve may be applied based on trends drawn from the aggregatedcalibration and characteristic data, rather than being based on themodel of the playback device, for instance. As one example, thecomputing device may determine that playback devices having a playbackhistory and/or music sources indicating a preference for a particulargenre of music tend to be similarly adjusted according toward a givenEQ. Thus, the computing device may determine a target frequency responsecurve that corresponds to the given EQ, and may transmit it to playbackdevices associated with the same genre preference. Other examples arealso possible.

The collection, storage, and transmission of data and informationdiscussed may be carried out by a server communicating with a relativelylarge number of playback devices, as noted above. However, the sameactions may be carried out within a single playback system, by one ormore of the playback devices and control devices of the individualsystem, either temporarily or for an extended period of time. Forexample, calibration data may be aggregated for all playback devicecalibrations within a single playback system, and may be stored amongone or more of the playback devices or other devices within the playbacksystem. The aggregated calibration data may then be analyzed ortransmitted to another computing device in communication with multipleplayback systems. Other examples are also possible.

Additionally, the transmission of data and information are generallydiscussed as transmissions between the computing device and one or moreplayback devices. It should be understood that transmissions may alsoinvolve one or more other, intermediate playback devices and/or controldevices which may relay the data and information from one device toanother.

As indicated above, the examples involve updating playback deviceconfiguration information based on data collected from playback devicecalibrations that have been performed. In one aspect, a computing deviceis provided. The device includes a processor, a non-transitory computerreadable medium, and program instructions stored on the non-transitorycomputer readable medium that, when executed by the processor, cause thecomputing device to perform functions. The functions includetransmitting playback device configuration information to a givenplayback device and receiving calibration data corresponding to eachplayback device of a plurality of playback devices. The functions alsoinclude receiving playback device characteristic data indicating atleast one playback device characteristic for each playback device of theplurality of playback devices. The functions also include, based on atleast the received calibration data and the received playback devicecharacteristic data, determining updated playback device configurationinformation; and transmitting data indicating the updated playbackdevice configuration information to the given playback device.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involvestransmitting, by at least one computing device, playback deviceconfiguration information to a given playback device and receiving, bythe at least one computing device, calibration data corresponding toeach playback device of a plurality of playback devices. The method alsoinvolves receiving, by the at least one computing device, playbackdevice characteristic data indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for each playback device of the plurality of playbackdevices. The method also involves, based on at least the receivedcalibration data and the received playback device characteristic data,determining updated playback device configuration information. Themethod also involves transmitting data indicating the updated playbackdevice configuration information to the given playback device.

In yet another aspect, a playback device is provided. The deviceincludes a processor, a microphone, a non-transitory computer readablemedium, and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computerreadable medium that, when executed by the processor, cause the playbackdevice to perform functions. The functions include determiningconfiguration information for the playback device and transmittingcalibration data to a computing device, where the calibration datacomprises data indicating the configuration information. The functionsalso include transmitting data to the computing device indicating atleast one playback device characteristic for the playback device. Thefunctions also include receiving, from the computing device, dataindicating updated configuration information and applying the updatedconfiguration information when playing back audio content.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments. It will be understood byone of ordinary skill in the art that this disclosure includes numerousother examples. While some examples described herein may refer tofunctions performed by given actors such as “users” and/or otherentities, it should be understood that this description is for purposesof explanation only. The claims should not be interpreted to requireaction by any such example actor unless explicitly required by thelanguage of the claims themselves.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 may notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

The playback device 200 may also include one or more microphones 220.The microphone(s) 220 may be used to detect audio data in proximity tothe playback device 200, such as voice commands for controlling theplayback device 200. Further, the microphone(s) 220 may be used tocapture and record audio playback data from the playback device 200, orfrom one or more other playback devices in proximity to the playbackdevice 200, during a calibration procedure. Other examples and otheruses for the microphone(s) 220 are also possible.

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The control device 300 may also include one or more microphones 310. Themicrophone(s) 310 may be used to detect audio data in proximity to thecontrol device 300, such as voice commands for controlling the controldevice 300. Further, the microphone(s) 310 may be used to capture andrecord audio playback data from a playback device, such as the playbackdevice 200 shown in FIG. 2, during a calibration procedure of a playbackdevice 200. Other examples and other uses for the microphone(s) 310 arealso possible.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Playback Device Calibration

As further discussed in the related application Ser. Nos. 14/481,505,14/481,511, and 14/805,140, which are incorporated herein by reference,an example calibration of a playback device in a playback environmentmay generally involve the playback device playing back a first audiosignal, which is detected and recorded by a microphone as a second audiosignal. For instance, the playback device may be the playback device 200shown in FIG. 2, and the microphone 310 may be part of a control device300, such as a smartphone. In other examples, the microphone may be themicrophone 220 of the playback device 200, or of another playbackdevice, among other possibilities.

The first audio signal may be a test or calibration tone having aparticular spectral profile. Different test tones may be stored and usedbased on the particular configuration of the playback device 200, ananticipated genre of music to be played, the particular characteristicsof the playback environment (e.g., room size), etc. After detecting thesecond audio signal, the control device 300 may, in some examples, senddata indicating the second audio signal to a computing device. Thecomputing device may be a server that determines, based on the dataindicating the second audio signal, an audio processing algorithm foruse by the playback device 200 in the playback environment, which may betransmitted back to the playback device 200.

The audio processing algorithm determined for the playback device 200 ina given calibration is based on several inputs. First, each calibrationof the playback device 200 may generally aim to calibrate the playbackdevice 200 according to a target frequency response curve. The targetfrequency response curve may correspond to a frequency response that isconsidered a good-sounding, or pleasing to a typical listener. Thetarget frequency response curve may vary based on the model of playbackdevice 200 (e.g., size), the orientation of the playback device 200(e.g., vertical or horizontal), or other configurations states of theplayback device 200 (e.g., bonded with another playback device). Thecomputing device may store target frequency response curves in adatabase for each potential configuration, or they may be stored on theplayback device 200, the controller device 300, or more than one of theabove.

Further, the microphone that detects the first audio signal, whether itis the microphone 310 on the control device, the microphone 220 on theplayback device 200, or a microphone on another playback device, has itsown audio characteristics. For example, the response of microphone 310may depend on the type and model of control device 300 used. Themicrophone response curve may also be stored in the database on thecomputing device, or elsewhere. With this information, the second audiosignal that is detected by the microphone 310 may be normalizedconsidering the known audio characteristics of the microphone 310. Otherknown adjustments to the second audio signal may also be applied. Forinstance, in some cases, the control device 300 may be configured todetect the presence of a protective case, and may obtain from thecomputing device information regarding the effects of the case on themicrophone's audio characteristics. Again, this information may bestored in the database on the computing device. Other possibilities also exist.

Additionally, the second audio signal detected by the microphone 310will reflect a frequency response corresponding to the playbackenvironment where the playback device is located. Unlike theconfiguration of the playback device 200, the target frequency responsecurve, microphone response curve, and other device-based inputs, whichmay be generally known, the frequency response of the playbackenvironment may represent an unknown variable in each calibration. Forinstance, the frequency response of the playback environment may bebased on the size of a given room, its construction materials, thefurnishings of the room and their location with in the room, among otherfactors. Consequently, it may be determined empirically during thecalibration using the microphone 310.

Based on at least some of the calibration inputs discussed above, thecomputing device may determine an audio processing algorithm that, whentransmitted to and applied by the playback device 200 in the playbackenvironment, will cause audio playback by the playback device 200 toapproach or meet the target frequency response curve. More or fewercalibration inputs than those described above may be used. However, toobtain a playback device calibration that is specific to the playbackenvironment, some calibration procedures may require a minimum amount ofrecorded spectral data from the playback environment for the computingdevice to determine an accurate response curve for the playbackenvironment. For instance, some calibrations may require 45 seconds ofrecorded playback of the test tone, which may proceed through adesignated series of spectral sweeps. Further, the calibration mayrequire recorded spectral data from multiple locations in the playbackenvironment, necessitating movement of the microphone about theenvironment by a user, for instance.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example playback environment 600 including acontrol device 602, a playback device 604, and a playback device 606.The control device 602, which may be coordinating and/or performing atleast a portion of the calibration, may be similar to the control device300 of FIG. 3. The playback devices 604 and 606 may both be similar tothe playback device 200 of FIG. 2, and one or both may be calibratedaccording to the examples discussed herein. FIG. 6 also illustrates anexample path 608 from a first location (a) to a second location (b)within the playback environment 600, which may represent the movement ofthe control device 602 during a calibration, as discussed above.

FIG. 6 also shows a computing device 610, which may collect, store, andtransmit the calibration information described herein. The computingdevice 610 may be a server in communication with a media playback systemthat includes the playback devices 604 and 606. The computing device 610may also be in communication, either directly or indirectly, with thecontrol device 602. While the discussions below may refer to theplayback environment 600 of FIG. 6, it should be appreciated that theplayback environment 600 is only one example of a playback environmentwithin which a playback device may be calibrated. Other examples arealso possible.

The computing device 610 may receive and store in the databaseadditional information relating to each calibration event. Theinformation may be transmitted by each of the playback devices that iscalibrated, whether in playback environment 600 or elsewhere.Additionally or alternatively, the information may be transmitted by acontrol device involved in the calibration. For instance, a givenplayback device and/or control device may transmit information regardingthe date and time of a given calibration, an identification of theplayback device including the make, model, and serial number, which mayfurther indicate the “age” of the playback device (since it wasmanufactured), the zone configuration of the playback device, such as agrouping or pairing state, the software version of the playback device,the hardware and software version of a given control device. Numerousother examples are also possible.

In addition, the computing device 610 may receive and store results fromeach calibration in the database. For example, the computing device maystore the determined response curve for each playback environment inwhich a playback device is calibrated, including more specificinformation such as the approximate room size or the proximity of anobstructive object to the playback device, which may be detected by themicrophone. Further, the computing device 601 may receive and store theaudio processing algorithm that is implemented by each playback deviceas a result of each calibration. For instance, the computing device 601may receive and store the specific filter coefficients that are appliedby each playback device. As another example, the computing device 601may receive and store a difference metric for each calibration, whichmay include an indication of how significantly the sound calibration ofthe playback device changed as a result of the calibration. Thecomputing device 610 may also receive and store information regardingfailed calibration attempts, including the reason for the failure, ifknown. Other examples are also possible.

In some embodiments, the computing device 610 may be a server that ismaintained and operated by the company that sells the playback devicesbeing calibrated, such as SONOS, Inc. Alternatively, a third party maymaintain and operate the server on behalf of the playback devicecompany. In other examples, a company may employ the methods describedherein across multiple different types of speaker systems, which mayinclude playback devices that are made and sold by various differentcompanies. For example, the server might be operated by an audio contentprovider, or audio content curating service, among other possibilities.

The calibration information discussed above may be provided to thecomputing device 610 in a variety of ways. For example, the calibrationdata may be transmitted to the server directly in real time, during orimmediately following each calibration that takes place. However, ifthere are a relatively large number of calibrations across many devices,this may create bandwidth issues at the computing device 610. Therefore,each playback device may locally store and update a calibration filecontaining the data discussed above. The calibration file may then beperiodically requested (“pulled”) by the computing device 610, perhapsas part of a playback device diagnostic event or a software update.Alternatively, the calibration file may be transmitted (“pushed”) to thecomputing device 610 by the playback device as part of a diagnosticevent or a software update. The calibration file might also betransmitted in response to a manual commend, such as a user input. Otherexamples are also possible.

In addition to receiving and storing the calibration data, the computingdevice 610, may also receive and store information from each playbackdevice that is not necessarily related to an individual calibrationevent. For example, the computing device 610 may receive and storeplayback device characteristics such as user account(s) data associatedwith the playback device (e.g., geography, age, gender, etc.), playbackhistory of the playback device and associated data (e.g., listeningduration, audio quality, genres, favorites, media sources, etc.) and anymanual settings present on the playback device at the time ofcalibration, such as a manually adjusted equalization (EQ). Otherpossibilities also exist.

Further, the computing device 610 may receive and store data that mayindicate a level of listener satisfaction with each calibration. Forinstance, if two calibrations for the same device occur in relativelyclose proximity to each other, with few other variables changing, it mayindicate that the listener was dissatisfied with the first calibration.As another example, the computing device may receive an indication thatthe audio response of the playback device has been manually adjustedfollowing a calibration, which may again indicate that the calibrationdid not meet the listener's expectations.

On the other hand, the computing device 610 may receive data indicatingan increase playback activity following a calibration. This may indicateincreased listener satisfaction with the calibration. Further, if thecomputing device 610 does not receive any recalibration data, nor anydata indicating a manual EQ change, it may imply that the user wassatisfied. As another example, a survey inquiring whether the listenerwas satisfied with the calibration, or noticed an improvement, may beprovided via an interface of the control device 602. Other measures fordetermining listener satisfaction with a given calibration also exist.

Finally, although the examples described herein may primarily involvethe computing device 601 acting as a centralized server receiving andstoring calibration information from numerous playback devices acrossnumerous playback environments, it should be understood that thecollection, storage, and transmission of calibration informationdiscussed in all of the examples herein may be carried out within asingle playback system, by one or more of the playback devices andcontrollers of the individual system, either temporarily or for anextended period of time. For example, calibration data may be aggregatedfor all playback device calibrations within a single playback system,and may be stored among one or more of the playback devices or otherdevices within the playback system. The aggregated calibration data maythen be analyzed or transmitted to another computing device incommunication with multiple playback systems. Other examples are alsopossible.

Additionally, the transmission of data and information noted throughoutthe examples herein are generally discussed as transmissions between thecomputing device 701 and one or more playback devices or controldevices. It should be understood that transmissions may also involve oneor more other, intermediate playback devices and/or control deviceswhich may relay the data and information from one device to another.

a. Updating Playback Device Configuration Information Based onCalibration Data

As noted above, examples discussed herein involve updating playbackdevice configuration information based on data collected from playbackdevice calibrations that have been performed. The updated configurationinformation may result in improved calibrations and sound quality in agiven playback device, or perhaps across many playback devices. Otherbenefits are also possible.

Methods 500 and 800 shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 present embodiments ofmethods that can be implemented within an operating environmentinvolving, for example, the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one ormore of the playback device 200 of FIG. 2, and one or more of thecontrol device 300 of FIG. 3. Methods 500 and 800 may include one ormore operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more ofblocks 502-510 and 802-810. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the methods 500, 800, and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer readable medium may include non-transitory computer readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the methods 500, 900 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, each block in FIGS. 5 and 8 may represent circuitrythat is wired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

At block 502 of the method 500, a computing device may transmit playbackdevice configuration information to a given playback device. Thecomputing device may be, for instance, the computing device 610 and thegiven playback device may be the playback device 604 shown in FIG. 6.The configuration information transmitted from the computing device 610to the playback device 604 may be any of the information discussedabove. For instance, the computing device may transmit configurationinformation related to calibration, such as a target frequency responsecurve for the given playback device 604, a microphone response curvethat may be associated with the control device 602, or an audioprocessing algorithm to be used by the given playback device 604, amongother possibilities. In some cases, the configuration information mightnot be directly related to calibration, such as a general softwareconfiguration, or a list of media sources. Other examples are alsopossible.

At block 504, the computing device 610 may receive calibration datacorresponding to each playback device of a plurality of playbackdevices. In particular, the computing device 610 may receive calibrationdata that corresponds to a respective calibration event associated witheach respective playback device in the plurality of playback devices. Insome cases, the plurality of playback devices from which the computingdevice 610 receives calibration data may include the given playbackdevice 604. Further, the plurality of playback devices from whichcalibration data is received may include not only those playback devices604 and 606 located in the playback environment 600, but in otherplayback environments as well. In some cases, the calibration data maybe received from hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions ofplayback devices located in playback environments around the world.

Along these lines, FIG. 7 shows another example of a computing device701 according to some of the examples discussed herein, which may beanalogous to the computing device 610 for purposes of these examples. InFIG. 7, the computing device 701 is shown in communication with a givenplayback device 702, which is to be calibrated in a given playbackenvironment 703. The particular playback device 702 may be similar tothe playback device 200 shown in FIG. 2, as well as the playback devices604 and 606 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 also shows a plurality of playbackdevices 704 a, 704 b, and 704 c, located respectively within differentplayback environments 705 a, 705 b, and 705 c. Each of these playbackdevices may also be similar to the playback device 200 shown in FIG. 2.Moreover, the plurality of playback devices shown in FIG. 7 mayrepresent far more playback devices than the three depicted, as notedabove.

The calibration data received by the computing device 701 may includeany of the data discussed above that may be transmitted in associationwith a particular calibration event of a playback device, such as thedate and time of the calibration, the make and model number of thecalibrated playback device, the target frequency response curve used inthe calibration, among other things. The computing device 701 mayreceive and store the calibration data over time, as more playbackdevices are calibrated and recalibrated.

In some cases, the computing device 701 may transmit a request for atleast a portion of the calibration data from the plurality of playbackdevices. The computing device 701 may request only a portion of thetotal calibration data in order to minimize the required data transfer,which may be substantial over a large number of calibrated playbackdevices. For example, the computing device may request only thedetermined frequency response curves for the respective playbackenvironment involved in each calibration, in order to analyze thatspecific aspect of the calibration data.

The computing device 701 may transmit the request for the calibrationdata to each playback device directly, or it may transmit requests atthe media playback system level. Each media playback system, such as themedia playback system shown in FIG. 1, may then route the request toeach playback device therein, via one or more coordinating playbackdevices or control devices, among other possibilities. Accordingly, thecalibration data received by the computing device 701 may be in responseto a transmitted request for calibration data. In other examples, thecomputing device 701 may receive the calibration data from atransmission that is initiated from a given playback device in theplurality of playback devices. Other examples, including combinations ofthose noted herein, are also possible.

At block 506, the computing device 701 may receive playback devicecharacteristic data indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for each playback device of the plurality of playbackdevices. For example, a given playback device characteristic may includea manually adjusted equalization (EQ) setting of the playback device,which may be adjusted by a user. Other playback device characteristicsmight include the geographic location of the playback device, playbackhistory of the device, details regarding a user profile associated withthe device (e.g., age, gender, etc.), among other possibilities.

In some cases, the computing device 701 may receive the both playbackdevice characteristic data and calibration data for a given playbackdevice at the same time, for example, within the same data transfer.Alternatively or additionally, the computing device 701 may receive twoseparately, in response to requests by the computing device 701,transmissions initiated by a given playback device, or any combinationthese. For example, playback device characteristic data relating togeography and user demographic data might be transmitted from theplurality of playback devices less frequently than calibration data, asit may be less subject to change over time. As another example, playbackcharacteristic data regarding manually adjusted EQ settings might bereceived more frequently. For instance, this data may be requested bythe computing device both before and after each calibration event, forreasons discussed below. Other examples are also possible.

After receiving the data discussed above from the plurality of playbackdevices, the computing device 701 may analyze the received calibrationdata in conjunction with the received playback device characteristicdata to determine what correlations may exist within the data. Based onthis information, the computing device 701 may take actions to improvefuture calibrations or otherwise improve the overall listeningexperience among the plurality of playback devices.

Accordingly, at block 508, based on at least the received calibrationdata and the received playback device characteristic data, the computingdevice 701 may determine updated playback device configurationinformation. For instance, the computing device 701 may determine that,among a plurality of PLAY: 3 model playback devices that used the sametarget frequency response for the calibration events recorded in thedata set, a significant number of those playback devices were subject toa manual EQ adjustment following the calibration.

In some embodiments, the computing device 701 may average all of thesemanual EQ adjustments and use the determined average as the updatedtarget frequency response for all PLAY: 3 model playback devices.Alternatively, the computing device 701 might analyze the EQ adjustmentsmore specifically. For example, the computing device 701 may determinethat among the manual EQ adjustments, a significant number increased thebass response by a certain amount. Based on this information, thecomputing device may update the target frequency response correspondingto the PLAY: 3 model of playback device to incorporate the increasedbass response.

At block 510, the computing device 701 may transmit data indicating theupdated playback device configuration information to the given playbackdevice. For example, the given playback device 702 shown in FIG. 7 maybe a PLAY: 3 model playback device, and therefore it may receive theupdated target frequency response from the computing device 701 andstore it in memory for use in future calibrations. Further, thecomputing device 701 may transmit the playback device configurationinformation to each playback device in the plurality of PLAY: 3 modelplayback devices.

It is noteworthy that, in some cases, the basis for updating theplayback device configuration information might not be apparent if thecalibration data and playback device characteristic data of the givenplayback device 702 are considered in isolation. For instance, withreference to the example above, the given playback device 702 may be aPLAY: 3 model, but it might not have been manually adjusted to increasethe bass response following its calibration event(s) recorded in thedata set. Nonetheless, the given playback device 702 may be updatedbased on the data received by the computing device 701 regarding similaror identical playback devices. In this way, a crowd-sourced componentfor improved playback quality may be implemented, whereby users who donot want to take the time to adjust manual EQ settings, or who might notappreciate how such adjustments may improve in a playback device'sfrequency response, may benefit from other users who do.

In some cases, the computing device 701 may transmit updatedconfiguration information to the given playback device 702 that may beapplied immediately, without any additional calibration. For instance,the computing device 701 may determine an updated target frequencyresponse for the given playback device 702, as noted above. Moreover,because the computing device 701 may have already received calibrationdata from the given playback device 702 for one or more previouscalibrations, the computing device 701 may already have stored in adatabase the frequency response for the given playback environment 703,the zone configuration and grouping of the given playback device 702,among other calibration data.

Consequently, the computing device 701 may have the informationnecessary to identify an audio processing algorithm for the givenplayback device 702 based on the updated target frequency response,without the need for further calibration. Thus, the updatedconfiguration information that is transmitted to the given playbackdevice 702 may include the identified audio processing algorithm. Thisaudio processing algorithm may be applied by the given playback device702 automatically. In some cases, an indication might be provided to auser that a calibration improvement has been applied. The indicationmight be provided, for example, via an interface of a control deviceassociated with the given playback device 702.

Alternatively, a user might be given an option to implement the updatedconfiguration information. For instance, a user might be prompted via acontrol device with a message indicating that “Some other users prefer ahigher bass than your current calibration—would you like to increase thebass?” The user may then select whether or not to do so.

As another example, the computing device 701 may determine the updatedplayback device configuration information based on a particular playbackdevice characteristic. For example, the computing device 701 maydetermine further data that is correlated with the users who manuallyincreased the bass response following a calibration, so as to define aplurality of playback devices that is more specific than just all PLAY:3 model playback devices.

For instance, the computing device 701 may determine that the behaviordiscussed above of increasing the bass response is strongly correlatedwith playback devices having an associated user profile indicating auser age under 30 years old. Thus, the computing device 701 may transmitthe updated playback device configuration information to the givenplayback device 702 based on the given playback device 702 having thatparticular playback device characteristic—an associated user profileindicating a user age under 30 years old.

In some embodiments, given the volume of calibrations that may beavailable for analysis by the computing device 701, it may be possibleto test one or more target frequency response curves among the pluralityof playback devices. For example, AB testing may be performed to obtainfeedback regarding potential target frequency response curves.Accordingly, the computing device 701 may split the plurality ofplayback devices into two populations and then apply a first targetfrequency response curve to the playback devices in population A, and asecond target frequency response curve to the playback devices inpopulation B.

Feedback from this type of testing may be obtained in a variety of ways.As one example, the plurality of playback devices in each population bemonitored such that, after a calibration event of a given playbackdevice according to one of the “test” target frequency response curves,any subsequent manual adjustments to the EQ settings of the givenplayback device are recorded and analyzed. This type of passive, or“blind” testing between two populations may implicitly indicate thatusers preferred one response curve over the other, if users madesubstantially fewer subsequent EQ adjustments in population A, forexample. Additionally or alternatively, this testing may provideimplicit data suggesting how the target frequency response curves mightbe improved. For instance, if post-calibration adjustments to theplayback devices in population B consistently indicate a user desire todecrease the bass response, it may indicate that the target frequencyresponse curve used in population B has a bass response that is toohigh.

Further, it may be possible to control for some variables in the testingof target frequency response curves, such as differences betweenplayback devices (e.g., different models, configurations, etc.) ordifferences in location (e.g., different playback environments). Forinstance, the computing device 701 may have access to the calibrationdata, including audio characteristic data, for each of these factors andmore, as discussed above. Therefore, it may be able to normalize some ofthe feedback that is received regarding manual EQ adjustments.

Additionally, the blind AB testing discussed above may also be used todraw inferences about how a particular target frequency response curveinfluences other user behaviors, in addition to manual EQ adjustments.For example, the computing device 701 may collect data regarding achange in content preferences following a calibration to the particulartarget frequency response curve. This information might be used toprovide suggestions to other uses who may have indicated satisfactionwith the particular target frequency response curve, or a similar curve.For instance, a user might be prompted with a suggestion that “Otherusers like this calibration for listening to jazz music.” Other changesin user behaviors or listening habits may be monitored as well such aslistening frequency, duration, volume, etc. Other examples are alsopossible.

Feedback may also be collected from this type of testing more directly.For example, after a new calibration is applied to a given playbackdevice based on the particular target frequency response curve to betesting, users may be asked if they like the new calibration, and/orwhat could be done to improve it. Users might be surveyed, for instance,via an interface of an associated control device, which may transmit theresults to the computing device 701. Then, the satisfaction levels andsuggested improvements between the two populations may be compared.Other possibilities also exist.

As yet another example, the computing device 701 may initiate a morestraight-forward variety of AB testing where a given user is presentedwith both target frequency response curves, and asked which one ispreferred. For instance, a given playback device may be calibratedaccording to a first target frequency response curve, and may then playback a sample audio content. The given playback device may then berecalibrated according to a second target frequency response curve, andmay then play back the sample audio content again. The user may beprompted to choose between the two via a control device, as discussedabove.

Other types of information may be additionally or alternativelysolicited from users regarding a newly implemented target frequencyresponse curve. For instance, a user may be asked to rate howsignificant of a change he or she perceives the new calibration to havemade. The user may be asked via a control device interface, “On a scaleof 1 to 5, how big of an impact did the new calibration make?” Resultsfrom this type of inquiry across a population of tested playback devicesmay be used to inform users of the potential effect of a newcalibration, if the particular target frequency response curve beingtested is later transmitted more broadly. For example, a user might beinformed that “Other users have found this new calibration to have asignificant impact.” Numerous other examples are also possible.

In some embodiments, the computing device 701 may use the storedcalibration data and playback device characteristic data to determinenew categorizations of playback devices to which a target frequencyresponse curve might be applied. For instance, the computing device 701may determine that a certain manual EQ adjustment following calibrationis correlated with a particular playback device characteristic. Thus,the computing device 701 may determine a target frequency response curvewhich incorporates the recurring manual EQ adjustment, and then apply itto playback devices having the correlated characteristic.

For instance, the data that is collected and stored by the computingdevice 701 may indicate that a significant number of playback devicesare manually adjusted to increase the bass response following acalibration to a certain target frequency response curve. Further, thecomputing device 701 may also determine that this manual EQ adjustmentis correlated with playback devices that have, as just one example, aplayback history that indicates a strong preference for hip-hop music.Accordingly, the computing device 701 might determine updatedconfiguration information that includes a target frequency responsecurve with higher bass response, and then transmit it to playbackdevices sharing the same characteristic of a hip-hop music preference.

Further, the computing device 701 may determine this type ofcategorization not only at the level of individual playback devices, butperhaps at a more specific level corresponding to different users of athe same playback device. For instance, more than one user account maybe associated with a given playback device, and only one of those useraccounts may exhibit the strong preference to hip-hop music noted above.Thus, the given playback device may receive the updated configurationinformation containing the updated target frequency response curve, butmay only apply it when playing back audio content from thehip-hop-preferring user account. Other examples are also possible.

As another example, a playback device characteristic such as geographymay be used in similar fashion. For instance, the data indicating amanually increased bass response may be correlated with playback deviceslocated in a particular region of the United States, or a particularcountry or region of the world. Thus, the computing device 701 maydetermine that similar manual EQ adjustments are made by users in thesouthern United States, or in the country of Australia. Accordingly, thecomputing device 701 may assign an appropriately adjusted targetfrequency response curve to playback devices located that particulargeography.

In some further embodiments, the computing device 701 might determineupdated configuration data including a target frequency response curvefor playback devices on a case-by-case basis, rather than using abroader categorization of playback devices to implement calibrationchanges.

For instance, the computing device 701 may determine from received datathat a particular user of a given playback device has manually adjustedthe EQ of the given playback device in the past to increase the bassresponse. In response, the computing device 701 may update the updatedthe playback device's target frequency response curve so as to carryforward the previously applied bass increase when the given playbackdevice is calibrated. For example, the bass response in a particularfrequency range may be increased by a certain percentage thatcorresponds to the previously applied manual EQ changes.

Similarly, the computing device 701 may determine from the data, asnoted above, that a preference for hip-hop music is correlated with amanual bass increase of a certain amount at associated playback devices.Thus, if a given playback device to be calibrated transmits data to thecomputing device 701 indicating a preference for hip-hop music, thecomputing device 701 may adjust the target frequency response curve forthe given playback device by increasing the bass response commensuratewith the other similar bass increases found in the data set. Numerousother examples are also possible.

In some cases, the computing device 701 may receive data indicating thata user is performing manual EQ adjustments more often than might beconsidered typical, suggesting dissatisfaction with the user's listeningexperience. For instance, a user may adjust the manual EQ settings of aplayback device more than a threshold amount, such as once a day or oncea week. In response, the computing device 701 may provide a suggestionto the user, via a control device, for instance, that a calibration beinitiated. During the calibration, the playback device 701 mayincorporate the user's manual EQ changes into a target frequencyresponse curve, if the adjustments reveal a consistent user preference.If issues persist, the user might be further prompted to providefeedback regarding why the calibration is not satisfactory.

Finally, although the examples described herein may primarily involvethe computing device 701 acting as a centralized server receiving andstoring calibration information from numerous playback devices acrossnumerous playback environments, it should be understood that thecollection, storage, and transmission of calibration informationdiscussed in all of the examples herein may be carried out within asingle playback system, by one or more of the playback devices andcontrollers of the individual system, either temporarily or for anextended period of time. For example, calibration data may be aggregatedfor all playback device calibrations within a single playback system,and may be stored among one or more of the playback devices or otherdevices within the playback system. The aggregated calibration data maythen be analyzed or transmitted to another computing device incommunication with multiple playback systems. Other examples are alsopossible.

Additionally, the transmission of data and information noted throughoutthe examples herein are generally discussed as transmissions between thecomputing device 701 and one or more playback devices or controldevices. It should be understood that transmissions may also involve oneor more other, intermediate playback devices and/or control deviceswhich may relay the data and information from one device to another.

b. Receiving Playback Device Configuration Updates Based on CalibrationData

Similar to the above, examples that involve updating playback deviceconfiguration information based on data collected from playback devicecalibrations that have been performed may be discussed form theperspective of the playback device to be calibrated.

At block 802 of the method 800, a playback device may determineconfiguration information for the playback device. The playback devicemay be, for instance, the playback device 702 shown in FIG. 7, which maybe similar to the playback device 200 shown in FIG. 2. The determinedconfiguration information may include information such as a storedtarget frequency response curve for the given playback device 702, or anaudio processing algorithm to be used by the playback device 702.Numerous other examples of configuration information for the playbackdevice 702 are possible, as discussed above. In some cases, theconfiguration information may be determined by the playback device 702as a result of the information being received by the playback devicefrom another device, such as the computing device 701.

At block 804, the playback device 702 may transmit calibration data tothe computing device 701. The calibration data may include theconfiguration information, as well as other data related to thecalibration event of the playback device 701. For example, thecalibration data may include the make and model, zone configuration, andhardware and software version of the playback device 702, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, the playback device 702 may receive, from thecomputing device 701, a request for the calibration data. Additionallyor alternatively, the playback device 702 may transmit the calibrationdata each time a calibration is performed, and/or on a periodicschedule, such as once every week or once every month. As discussed inprevious examples, the calibration data may be transmitted to thecomputing device 701 as a calibration file in a way that allows thecomputing device 701 to manage what may be relatively large amounts ofdata.

At block 806, the playback device 702 may transmit data to the computingdevice 701 indicating at last one playback device characteristic for theplayback device 702. The characteristic data may include datacorresponding to the user accounts associated with the playback device702, a playback history, or any manual equalization (“EQ”) adjustmentsthat may be applied to the playback device 702, among other examplespreviously discussed. Further, the playback device characteristic datamay be transmitted in conjunction with the calibration data, or it maybe transmitted separately, as noted above.

At block 808, the playback device 702 may receive, from the computingdevice 701, data indicating updated configuration information. Asdiscussed above, the updated configuration information may be determinedby the computing device 701 based on calibration data received from aplurality of other playback devices, corresponding to previouslyperformed calibrations.

The updated configuration information may include, for instance, anupdated target frequency response curve to be used in a calibration ofthe playback device 702. Additionally or alternatively, the updatedconfiguration information may include an updated audio processingalgorithm, which may be applied by the playback device 702 without theneed for further calibration. Other examples are also possible.

Further, the updated configuration information may be based, in part, ona particular playback device characteristic of the playback device 702that was transmitted to the computing device 701. For example, theplayback device 702 may transmit data to the computing device 702indicating that the playback device 702 has been previously adjusted tomanually increase the bass response, or has a playback historyindicating a preference for hip-hop music, or both. Thus, the updatedconfiguration information received from the computing device 701 mayinclude an updated target frequency response curve that includes ahigher bass response based on one or both of these characteristics.Other possibilities exist, as mentioned in previous examples.

At block 810, the playback device 702 may apply the updatedconfiguration information when playing back audio content. For instance,the playback device 701 may apply an updated target frequency responsecurve in a subsequent calibration, resulting in a new calibration thatmay be applied for the play back of audio content. Other examples arealso possible.

Finally, as noted throughout, it should be understood that thecollection, storage, and transmission of calibration informationdiscussed in all of the examples herein may be carried out within asingle playback system, by one or more of the playback devices andcontrollers of the individual system, either temporarily or for anextended period of time. For example, calibration data may be aggregatedfor all playback device calibrations within a single playback system,and may be stored among one or more of the playback devices or otherdevices within the playback system. The aggregated calibration data maythen be analyzed or transmitted to another computing device incommunication with multiple playback systems. Other examples are alsopossible.

Additionally, the transmission of data and information noted throughoutthe examples herein are generally discussed as transmissions between theplayback device 702 and the computing device 701. It should beunderstood that transmissions may also involve one or more other,intermediate playback devices and/or control devices, such as thecontrol device 300, which may relay the data and information from onedevice to another.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

As indicated above, the examples involve updating playback deviceconfiguration information based on data collected from playback devicecalibrations that have been performed. In one aspect, a computing deviceis provided. The device includes a processor, a non-transitory computerreadable medium, and program instructions stored on the non-transitorycomputer readable medium that, when executed by the processor, cause thecomputing device to perform functions. The functions includetransmitting playback device configuration information to a givenplayback device and receiving calibration data corresponding to eachplayback device of a plurality of playback devices. The functions alsoinclude receiving playback device characteristic data indicating atleast one playback device characteristic for each playback device of theplurality of playback devices. The functions also include, based on atleast the received calibration data and the received playback devicecharacteristic data, determining updated playback device configurationinformation; and transmitting data indicating the updated playbackdevice configuration information to the given playback device.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involvestransmitting, by at least one computing device, playback deviceconfiguration information to a given playback device and receiving, bythe at least one computing device, calibration data corresponding toeach playback device of a plurality of playback devices. The method alsoinvolves receiving, by the at least one computing device, playbackdevice characteristic data indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for each playback device of the plurality of playbackdevices. The method also involves, based on at least the receivedcalibration data and the received playback device characteristic data,determining updated playback device configuration information. Themethod also involves transmitting data indicating the updated playbackdevice configuration information to the given playback device.

In yet another aspect, a playback device is provided. The deviceincludes a processor, a microphone, a non-transitory computer readablemedium, and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computerreadable medium that, when executed by the processor, cause the playbackdevice to perform functions. The functions include determiningconfiguration information for the playback device and transmittingcalibration data to a computing device, where the calibration datacomprises data indicating the configuration information. The functionsalso include transmitting data to the computing device indicating atleast one playback device characteristic for the playback device. Thefunctions also include receiving, from the computing device, dataindicating updated configuration information and applying the updatedconfiguration information when playing back audio content.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

We claim:
 1. A playback device comprising: at least one processor; anon-transitory computer-readable medium; and program instructions storedon the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the playback device to performfunctions comprising: determining configuration information for theplayback device; based on the determined configuration information,calibrating the playback device; after calibrating the playback device,transmitting calibration data to a computing device, wherein thecalibration data comprises (i) data corresponding to the calibration ofthe playback device and (ii) data indicating the configurationinformation; after calibrating the playback device, transmitting data tothe computing device indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for the playback device; receiving, from the computingdevice, data indicating updated configuration information; and applyingthe updated configuration information when playing back audio content.2. The playback device of claim 1, further comprising programinstructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the playback deviceto perform functions comprising: receiving, from the computing device, arequest for the calibration data.
 3. The playback device of claim 1,wherein the configuration information for the playback device comprisesa target frequency response curve corresponding to a model of theplayback device.
 4. The playback device of claim 1, wherein transmittingdata to the computing device indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for the playback device comprises transmitting data tothe computing device indicating at least one playback devicecharacteristic for the playback device according to a periodicscheduling of transmitting data indicating the at least one playbackdevice characteristic.
 5. The playback device of claim 1, wherein thedata indicating at least one playback device characteristic for theplayback device comprises data indicating manual equalizationadjustments that have been applied to the playback device.
 6. Theplayback device of claim 1, wherein the configuration informationcomprises a first audio processing algorithm, wherein the updatedconfiguration information comprises a second audio processing algorithm,and wherein the second audio processing algorithm differs from the firstaudio processing algorithm based at least in part on the data indicatingat least one playback device characteristic for the playback device. 7.The playback device of claim 1, further comprising program instructionsstored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the playback device toperform functions comprising: storing, in local memory, the updatedconfiguration information.
 8. A computing device comprising: at leastone processor; a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and programinstructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing deviceto perform functions comprising: receiving calibration datacorresponding respectively to a plurality of playback devices, whereineach playback device in the plurality of playback devices is located ina respective playback environment other than a first playbackenvironment; receiving playback device characteristic data respectivelyindicating at least one playback device characteristic for each playbackdevice of the plurality of playback devices; based on at least thecalibration data and the playback device characteristic data,determining updated playback device configuration information; andtransmitting data indicating the updated playback device configurationinformation to a given playback device located in the first playbackenvironment.
 9. The computing device of claim 8, further comprisingprogram instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readablemedium that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause thecomputing device to perform functions comprising: causing the givenplayback device to be updated based on the updated playback deviceconfiguration information.
 10. The computing device of claim 8, whereinthe calibration data corresponds to a plurality of calibration eventsrespectively associated with the plurality of playback devices.
 11. Thecomputing device of claim 8, wherein the updated playback deviceconfiguration information comprises a target frequency response to beused in a calibration of the given playback device.
 12. The computingdevice of claim 8, further comprising program instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: transmitting data indicating the updated playback deviceconfiguration information to each playback device in the plurality ofplayback devices.
 13. The computing device of claim 8, whereindetermining the updated playback device configuration informationcomprises determining the updated playback device configurationinformation based on a particular playback device characteristic, andwherein transmitting data indicating the updated playback deviceconfiguration information to the given playback device comprisestransmitting data indicating the updated playback device configurationinformation to the given playback device based on at least the givenplayback device having the particular playback device characteristic.14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein thenon-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with programinstructions that are executable to cause a computing device to performfunctions comprising: receiving calibration data correspondingrespectively to a plurality of playback devices, wherein each playbackdevice in the plurality of playback devices is located in a respectiveplayback environment other than a first playback environment; receivingplayback device characteristic data respectively indicating at least oneplayback device characteristic for each playback device of the pluralityof playback devices; based on at least the calibration data and theplayback device characteristic data, determining updated playback deviceconfiguration information; and transmitting data indicating the updatedplayback device configuration information to a given playback devicelocated in the first playback environment.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructionsthat are executable to cause the computing device to perform functionscomprising: causing the given playback device to be updated based on theupdated playback device configuration information.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein thecalibration data corresponds to a plurality of calibration eventsrespectively associated with the plurality of playback devices.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the updatedplayback device configuration information comprises a target frequencyresponse to be used in a calibration of the given playback device. 18.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein thenon-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with programinstructions that are executable to cause the computing device toperform functions comprising: transmitting data indicating the updatedplayback device configuration information to each playback device in theplurality of playback devices.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 14, wherein determining the updated playback deviceconfiguration information comprises determining the updated playbackdevice configuration information based on a particular playback devicecharacteristic, and wherein transmitting data indicating the updatedplayback device configuration information to the given playback devicecomprises transmitting data indicating the updated playback deviceconfiguration information to the given playback device based on at leastthe given playback device having the particular playback devicecharacteristic.
 20. A method carried out by a computing device, themethod comprising: receiving calibration data corresponding respectivelyto a plurality of playback devices, wherein each playback device in theplurality of playback devices is located in a respective playbackenvironment other than a first playback environment; receiving playbackdevice characteristic data respectively indicating at least one playbackdevice characteristic for each playback device of the plurality ofplayback devices; based on at least the calibration data and theplayback device characteristic data, determining updated playback deviceconfiguration information; and transmitting data indicating the updatedplayback device configuration information to a given playback devicelocated in the first playback environment.